Apun Mithunda! koi shak??
Note: The following post is taken from the archives of PassionForCinema.com, a much-loved platform for cinema enthusiasts. Apun Mithunda! koi shak?? This is being republished here in the spirit of archiving, historical significance, and sharing important conversations with the readers who may not have had access to the original site. The author of the post is Kartik Krishnan who published the post on September 7, 2006 at 6:36 am.
And it's for all the wrong reasons. I have always adored and loved this guy. As a child, I watched more of his movies than Amitabh. He is a person who has taken me into a totally different world of dancing, spy games, and larger-than-life heroism.
So the question is, why am I angry at him?It was because I always felt that he had more talent than all the actors of his time. He is one of the rare actors who never got ruffled by Big B and matched him scene to scene in the three movies with him. Such is his acting talent that he walked away with a National Award in his first movie. He is like the Indian cricket team that offers much but delivers a little.
It was in 1984 that I watched his 1979 released Suraksha. But before that he had already made me his fan with Disco Dancer. With Disco Dancer he had totally corrupted all young minds and made them awesome dance freaks. During our break time in school, my friends and I would try to imitate his dancing steps. Each evening we would be watching DD and showcasing the steps the next day. And yes, we were able to get some real hot chicks because of it.
Before Mithunda’s arrival, Bollywood had a number of Bond style movies but none of the actors had carried the role to perfection. It had to be Gunmaster 9 (G9) who could be doing a death defying stunt and the very next minutes making love to a sexy desi kudi. G 9 had made its debut in 1979 in Suraksha and returned to Indian cinema in 1981 in a movie called Waardat.
Every role he did was carried with panache like a docile person waiting to explode in Hum Paanch, a master under-cover cop in Dhuaan, as sensible businessman in Pasand Apni Apni, a bastard who wants to get women in bed before dumping them in Mujhe Insaaf Chahiye or a venomous despicable creature in Jallad.
To his credit he has won National Award three times. He received Best Actor Award for Mrigya in 1977, Tahader Katha in 1993 and the Best Supporting Actor for Swami Vivekananda in 1996. The other actors who appear on this list more than one time are Kamal Haasan, Naseeruddin Shah, Mohanlal and Mamooty. Even Amitabh has not won it more than once and that was in Agneepath.
Agneepath, a movie of one man’s tirade with his destiny. If Amitabh was the centre of attraction, Mithun was the soul of the movie. Krishan Iyer M.A. wearing a white lungi with a big tika on his head carried the movie from becoming another big masala into an epic.
He has also done a lot of movies that did not require much of acting thought. But he has also done some meaningful stuff. He was awesome in Ghulami, Agneepath and my personal favorite Prem Pratigya.
From doing great movies he moved on to doing some real rubbish stuff. This was the prime reason of being totally disillusioned with him. I could not bring myself to watch him doing mediocre roles in B grade movies that did neither have any consistent story nor any other actors of repute. Every B grade would be with some buxom obnoxious female actors and illogical villains. Some of his movie titles were very funny indeed. Example Phool aur angaar, Numbari Aadmi (he actually wore a jacket in this movies with numbers written all over it) Military Raaj and more.
There has always a talk that his movies never make money. But the question being asked is why are the producers signing him up again and again? Has some rabid dog bit them that they want to loose money? The answer is a clear NO. His movies rarely loose money. They might not make much in the metros but in the inner parts of India he is still a screen god.
Mithun still has fan following which rivals some of the very big names of Bollywood. Till today most of his movies will be full house on first day. We, the elite movie-goers, scoff at a thought of watching his movies in cinema. But has anyone seen the ticket queue for his movies. Trying buying first day first show ticket at the low priced cinema’s of Dadar or Parel. I bet you tickets will be sold out before you reach there.
India’s income tax department loves to pounce on people from the movie industry. They know that there is a lot of un-accounted money is stacked up and no tax has been paid for it. In 1996 I was surprised to see half page ad in Times of India by the income tax department with Mithun as its mascot. This was on account of him being the highest individual tax payer from 1994 to 1999. It is not as if he was making the highest of money in India but because of him being the son of the soil. It was the deep embedded social responsibility that made him pay tax on every Rupee he earned. There are those who make more than him but you won’t find their names on the top 100 tax payer list.
Mithunda has traveled a lot from being a staunch Naxalite to a highly respected actor and businessman. He has come up from a very humble family. His contribution to the society is immense. Each year he was the prime sponsor for cricket tournaments and other social causes. He is not just another great actor but a great human being as well.
There are times that I wish he had done more meaningful between the run of the mills that used to be released each month. As an actor he has not totally satisfied me. There were times that I felt he has not done justice not only to his acting ability but to fans like me. And this is the reason that I have a very on-off relationship with him.
Mani Ratnam taking him in his movie Guru has really excited me. May be this will be a second innings of relationship between thousands of fans like me and him. And maybe, just maybe he will start coming in better movies. It is a long shot but am prying that it happens.
Eagerly looking for to Mithunda’s Guru and beyond. May the force be with him. Koi shak???
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